Down in the Well
by Rumpelstiltskin und Vladimir
Summary: Rodeo AU. After Reno's life went to pieces, he had no idea how he would ever be able to recover. But after getting a job as a bull rider on a whim, he has no idea what's even going on anymore. The owner is shady, he almost dies on a regular basis, and the rodeo clown is a little strange. -a rumpy only story-
1. Chapter 1

**R: So, welcome to my first MULTICHAPTER Renegade story! An AU inspired by that episode where Reno &Co. have to join a rodeo to find some cattle rustlers. Not overly similar to that episode though, I promise. It's mostly going to be a romance plot, but I'm going to work in a little something else I believe. Enjoy~**

 ***DISCLAIMER* RV makes no claim to own Renegade or its characters. They are the property of Stephen J. Cannell. No profit is made from this writing.**

* * *

When Reno Raines resigned from his life as a Bay City police officer, he had done so with the intention of marrying the woman he loved and settling down to a safer life. But here he was, a year later, no Val, no job, and trying to get hired in a traveling rodeo as a bull rider. The irony of the situation pricked at his old wounds.

The owner of the rodeo was a somehow unsettling older man with grey hair and a distinct goatee. He introduced himself as 'Dutch', Dutch Dixon, and he had a silky no-nonsense attitude about him that gave Reno the impression he thought himself untouchable. It didn't quite sit right with Reno, but Dutch was tentatively offering him a job and he didn't have any concrete reason to believe the man was as shady as Reno's gut told him.

"We _are_ in need of a new bull rider," Dixon said from where he sat behind his desk, feet propped up on it. He wore a rather formal suit and tie, which was one of the things that struck Reno as unusual. Dutch was clearly a businessman, not a cowboy like he'd expect from someone running a rodeo. "Though you don't seem to have much experience. So tell you what; we're in town for two weeks. We'll give it til then, and if you're any good, we'll make this a permanent situation."

Reno smiled at that, though it was a bit forced. "Sounds good to me," he replied, reaching out to shake Dutch's hand.

After a quick shake, Dutch stood and walked around his desk. "I've got a few minutes, I'll show you around."

Reno followed him out of the trailer. His eyes instinctively flicked to where his bike was parked, thankful to see everything in it's place. He quickly turned his attention back to Dixon though when he pointed out the big ring set up on the dusty earth.

"That's where we hold all of the shows; barrel races, bull riding, bucking broncos, the whole deal," he explained. He pointed out several trailers that belonged to staff members and larger ones that they used to haul the bulls before they approached a line of horse trailers. An older woman around Dutch's age was leading a buckskin mare out to a younger woman. They were both blond, though the older woman's hair was faded and much shorter.

"Ah, Melissa!" Dutch greeted the older woman with a smile. "Raines, this is my wife, Melissa. Melissa, this is Reno Raines, our new trial bull rider," he introduced.

Reno shook Melissa's hand and she offered him a warm smile. He immediately felt at ease with her, a sharp contrast to the aura her husband exuded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Raines," she said.

He returned the smile. "The pleasure's all mine, Mrs. Dixon."

The other woman cleared her throat slightly and Reno turned his eyes to her. She was rather pretty, with long blond hair and blue eyes and a very lean, muscular build.

"Oh!" Melissa said with a small laugh, "This is Cheyenne Philips. She's one of our best barrel racers."

Reno shook her hand as well. "Nice to meet you, Cheyenne," he said.

She offered a small smirk, and he couldn't help but notice a slight mischievous twinkle in her eye. "You can call me Chey," she asserted.

"Reno," he responded, mirroring her expression.

Out of the corner of his eye, Reno noticed Dutch check his watch. "Melissa," he started, "I have a meeting with some staff in a couple minutes, would you mind finishing Reno's tour?"

Melissa nodded. "Of course," she said, and Dutch was quick to walk off. "So, Mr. Raines, what have you seen so far?" Reno recounted the places Dutch had shown him. "Okay then, that just leaves the vendors. I'll take you over to them, and after I'll introduce to some more of the people you'll be working with."

"I'd go with you," Cheyenne started, mounting her horse, "but I've got some time trials to run. Maybe I'll see you later."

"Maybe I'll buy you dinner," Reno offered, and she had already started to ride off.

"Maybe," she shot over her shoulder with that same smirk from before.

Reno grinned to himself, following after Melissa, who just laughed. "That Cheyenne is a feisty one, just warning you. She can handle herself."

"I can tell," he said. They continued through the lot, which was buzzing with quite a good amount of people, still setting up for opening the next day. Finally, they came upon a collection of food trucks, only one of which was open, likely for the workers.

Melissa waved to the woman in it's big open window. "Morning, Sandy!"

"Good morning, Mrs. Dixon," the woman responded. Sandy was also blond, but she had a cuter, slightly frazzled look about her that set her apart from Melissa's warmness and Chey's mischievousness. She leaned out to greet Melissa, a big smile on her face.

"Sandy, this is Reno Raines," she introduced. "He's our new bull rider. Mr. Raines, this is Sandra Caruthers."

"Bull rider! Cool," Sandy responded. "That's an exciting job. And dangerous."

"That it is," Reno agreed with an amused smile. "Though I imagine your job can get pretty exciting once this place gets busy."

Sandy laughed. "Exciting's not the word I'd use for it. Chaotic more like it." After a moment, she looked sheepish. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm being rude. Can I get you anything? A burger, a beer-"

"No, it's fine, I don't need anything," he assured. "Thank you."

"No problem," she said. "Any time you need anything, just swing by. Coworkers get a discount."

"I will, Sandy," he said.

Melissa looked thoughtful for a moment before she spoke again. "Hey, Sandy, have you seen Donnie around? I'd like to introduce him to Reno," she asked.

"No, sorry, Mrs. Dixon," she responded.

"Okay, well," Melissa began, looking maybe a bit disappointed, "what about Bobby? You seen him? He does seem to hand around here quite a bit," she donned a slight teasing grin.

Sandy responded with a slightly sheepish smile and shook her head. "Yeah, he stopped by to say hi this morning. He's probably in the costumes trailer," she offered.

Melissa thanked her and Reno offered a goodbye. They headed towards the staff's trailers on the other side of the lot, and Reno asked, "Who's Donnie?"

"Donnie's my son," Melissa explained. "He and his father... had a falling out. But I convinced Dutch to give him a job here."

Reno gave an understanding nod and was about to say something when a rather loud noise sounded of a ways. He paused in confusion, looking in the direction of what sounded like an animated howl.

Melissa sighed, motioning for him to keep moving. "Don't mind that. It's just The Hound."

Reno turned questioning eyes on her. "'The Hound'?" he repeated.

"'Hound' Adams," she clarified. "Dutch hired him because he's the best bronco rider you'll ever see. But the man's a menace and they hate each other. I just suggest you steer clear of him."

"Will do," he responded. "So, this guy you're bringing me to see, Bobby?"

"Ah, yes, Bobby," she said. "He's a great guy. Figured you should meet, because you two will be working rather closely together."

They were approaching another trailer by this point, and Reno noticed the 'Costumes' label on the door. "Is he another bull rider?" he asked.

Melissa chuckled. "No, not exactly," she said, knocking on the door.

The face that answered the door was covered in heavy white makeup, with dramatic blue streaks and red painted over the nose. A curly rainbow wig and brightly colored mix-match of clothes came right along with it.

"Mr. Raines, this is our rodeo clown, Bobby."


	2. Chapter 2

**R- Not much to say about the second chapter. I wish it were longer but I couldn't seem to lengthen it no matter how I tried. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

A wide grin spread across the clown's heavily painted face. "Mrs. Dixon! I was just thinking about you," Bobby greeted enthusiastically with a slight lilt to his voice before Reno could get a word in. "I wanted your opinion- I tried something new with my shirts, to get them to fit better over my armor." He gestured widely to the bright red garment fitted loosely over his chest.

"Looks great, Bobby," Melissa assured with a smile. "I wanted to introduce you to our new bull rider, Reno Raines," she added, motioning to Reno.

Bobby laughed and Reno couldn't help but notice how it made his dark eyes scrunch up. "Oh, of course, how rude of me," he said, sticking out a hand for Reno to take and he shook it. "Bobby the Clown at your service, combination bullfighter-and-barrelman at this fine rodeo."

Reno offered a nod and a smile, taking a moment to get a closer look at the man. They were about the same height, though Bobby was perhaps a bit taller with wide shoulders. His makeup and wig did a good job of covering his face and hair, so all Reno could make out was dark brown eyes and a round face. "So, you'll be the one who has my back out there?" he asked.

"You bet," Bobby said.

"We haven't had a major injury to any of our riders since Dutch brought Bobby on," Melissa informed, and Reno didn't miss him beaming proudly.

"I guess you could say, I'm the best clown in the business," Bobby said with a grin and another small laugh.

"Well, that's good to hear," Reno said. "I'll see you in the ring then?"

"Let's hope you don't need me to rescue you," Bobby said with a teasing smirk.

That got a chuckle out of Reno. "Let's hope," he agreed, silently suspecting he was going to like the clown.

* * *

"You did good today," Cheyenne said before taking a short sip from her drink.

"Thanks," Reno said with a smile, "Just hope I do that good tomorrow when it's actually in front of a crowd."

They sat across from each other, picking idly at the remains of their meals as they talked. It was already dark outside the small restaurant and it was anything but crowded, leaving a comfortable atmosphere they weren't quick to leave behind. Earlier that day, he had had his first trial ride, and he had lasted a good amount of time on the bull. He wasn't amazing, no, but he was good enough to entertain an audience.

"Couldn't have been your first time bull riding," she commented.

Reno shrugged. "I'm no pro but I've ridden a time or two, when I was younger."

"Young and crazy?" she offered with a smirk.

"Oh, definitely," he replied cheekily. "Enough about me, though, what about you? How long have you been barrel racing?"

"Well, I've been riding since I was little," Chey explained with a hint of a far-off look. "This job was really just a fluke, took it so I could stay around my brother."

"Your brother works at the rodeo?" he asked in mild surprise.

She smiled slightly, nodding.

"I guess you guys are close then," he commented.

"Yeah, he's really my best friend," she said fondly. "I was always a bit of a fish-out-of water growing up and he was always there for me. And after our father died, it just feels good to be around family."

Reno nodded knowingly. "I understand."

"You have any family?" Cheyenne asked.

"Not any that I see often enough," he explained. "My dad is a cop back in Chicago, my brother lives in Thailand, and my mother died a few years ago." He paused befire deciding to leave it at that, purposefully leaving out his loss from the previous year.

Chey gave him a slight supportive smile and he was glad to not see any pity in her eyes, just understanding. "Well, if there's one thing that's nice about this job, it's that most of us feel like family. Always willing to adopt us another member," she said, but paused a moment before smirking and adding, "well, as long as you don't run with The Hound or something."

Reno was quick to remember catching a glimpse of a weaselly guy earlier in the day. Barking and howling while he harassed some poor female crew member, he made quite the embarrassing spectacle of himself, to the point where Reno nearly felt the need to step in. "You don't need to worry about that from me," he promised.

"I thought so," she said. "So, are you ready for tomorrow? First big day in front of a crowd."

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Reno replied, though his voice dripped with sarcasm. "I'm totally ready to get torn apart by a bull in front of hundreds of strangers."

"Hey, that's the life, right?" Chey said with a small laugh. "Besides, you're in good hands. I'll make sure my brother doesn't let _anything_ happen to you," she assured teasingly.

"Wait, your brother?" Reno asked. "Is your brother-"

"Bobby, yeah," she said with a nod. "He really takes his job seriously."

"I've heard," Reno said. "No major injuries to bull riders since he started." Her pride at that was clear on her face and it made Reno smile. "I met him earlier today, he seems like a great guy."

"He's an even better clown," she joked, getting a laugh out of Reno.

They fell into a moment of silence after that, Reno's mind on her brother. He quickly felt guilty at that, trying to turn his attention back to the person he was sharing his dinner with. Instead, he wound up asking something else that was on his mind. "Hey, you don't happen to know Dixon's story, do you? He doesn't really seem to fit with the whole roping-and-riding thing."

"Tell me about it," Chey said. "I don't know what possessed him to buy a rodeo, but he at least seen to know what he's doing. Doesn't seem like the most honest guy around, but what guy is honest?"

Reno put on a faux insulted look. "What about me?"

"Jury's still out on you, Raines," she teased. "But, yeah, I think the only person around here that would really know Dixon's story is Melissa. He's not exactly 'open'."

Reno tapped his fingers on the tabletop. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

"And thank _you_ for buying me dinner."

* * *

Reno took a deep breath. The sun was bright in the mid-morning, cloudless sky and he tried to block out the sound of the crowd's roaring. He had done well the day before when just the crew was watching, but the pressure was on and he was doing everything in his power to stay calm. Ignoring relative strangers offering him offhanded 'Good luck's, he focused solely on getting in the pen and on the bull. He didn't hear the announcer over the intercom, or the crowd's laughter, but for some reason his eyes decided to trail on the brightly-clad figure out in the ring, entertaining the audience before he went out.

Heart lurching, he sucked in another breath, attributing it to the bull shifting and huffing underneath him. A man wrapped one of Reno's gloved hands in the bull rope and he gripped it tightly, forcing his gaze down on it instead.

A few short seconds later the door swung open and the bull burst out of the pen, Reno holding his freehand up in the air while the animal thrashed and bucked about in an attempt to throw him off. In an instant it was like all of his senses flooded back on him, the sound of the crowd shouting and the bull snorting and the announcer narrating, all hitting his ears. Dust burned his eyes and nose and throat, and in less than a second his hand ached with the effort of holding into the rope. He still held tight, trying to count the seconds away in head before he finally pulled away and freed his hand, jumping as far away from the bull as he could.

The bull whirled back towards him and Reno scrambled away, barely managing to stay on his feet. Suddenly, a familiar brightly-clothed clown came up from behind him, waving his arms and leading the bull away, distracting it long enough for Reno to escape the ring.

On the sidelines and out of breath but otherwise no worse for wear, Reno turned down the offer for first aid to see him. He was able to make out over the intercom that his score was good and the audience sounded reasonably entertained which let him breath a sigh of relief. His nervousness was quickly replaced with a buzz of excitement but he hid it the same as he did his anxiety.

Leaning heavily against a wall, he only straightened up slightly when he saw Bobby coming his way.

"Hey, man," he greeted the clown, "thanks."

"It was nothing, Reno," Bobby responded with a grin that scrunched up his eyes at the corners. "Just doing my job. You okay?"

"I'm fine," he brushed off, but couldn't help but return the smile. The clown seemed to exude an upbeat air about him that rubbed off on Reno whenever he was near.

"You did good out there, congrats," Bobby said. "And I heard you took my sister out for dinner last night," he added, raising an eyebrow at him.

Reno chuckled, slightly embarrassed. "I didn't know she was your sister until the end. But I assure you my intentions were pure," he said, raising his hands in an innocent gesture.

"Mhm, I sure hope so," he said, but with a hint of a smile. Reno was suddenly aware that staying on Bobby's good side was probably best; he may dress like a clown, but he also fought bulls for a living. Not to mention that under his loose clothing Reno could make out a very solidly built body.

Reno drug his eyes back up to look at his face, but was cut off from whatever he was going to say when someone called for Bobby.

Bobby offered him an apologetic look. "Sorry," he said, "but the public awaits," he joked. "I'll see you around."

Reno offered a quick goodbye and watched the clown rush off.

"Raines!"

He looked up quickly when he heard his name, glancing around for the source of the familiar voice. He found it quickly, greeted by the practiced grin of Dutch Dixon.

"You did pretty good out there," he said, walking up to Reno. "Keep it up and I'll definitely consider hiring you on when we move out of town."

"Hey, I'm just getting started," Reno assured, though the confidant smirk he offered was slightly forced.

"I'll bet," Dutch said. "I can really see you becoming an asset around here, Raines." Patting Reno on the shoulder, a smirk tugged at his lips that Reno barely caught as he walked past.

Though he wasn't one to be overly suspicious of people, Reno was struck once again with a pang of uneasiness about his new boss. Something about him didn't sit right with him, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake it.

Sighing, he considered Cheyenne's words from the night before: if anyone knew Dutch's story, it was Melissa.


End file.
